Professor John Simpson

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Recent Achievements

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Professor Simpson works internationally through WHO as one of a small number of people who lead Joint External Assessment Teams for WHO (he recently lead JEEs in Estonia and Georgia and is also a long standing member of the WHO Euro Regional Verification Committee for Measles and Rubella).

 

He provides consultancy services linked to his experience in Emergency preparedness Resilience and Response (EPRR) as part of an EU Project PROJECT 087, Preparedness and Response for Mass Gatherings and other Health Threats in Central Asia (PRECA). He has also had considerable experience working in Central Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa. He also acts as a senior advisor to a number of bodies on an ad hoc basis.

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He continues to be involved in research projects into the psychological effects of large-scale incidents on populations, and has a Visiting Chair at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London.

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Career

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His last  post was as Emeritus Public Health Advisor, UKHSA, London which was completed in April 2024. Previously he was Head of Public Health, Advice, Guidance and Expertise for the COVID-19 response, Public Health England and then UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) from March 2020 -March 2023 working full-time, having before been Director, Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response and a Deputy Director of the Health Protection Directorate at Public Health England (PHE).

 

Professor Simpson has published more than 20 peer reviewed papers mainly on population response to major incidents and he has written chapters for books on Pandemic Preparedness, Emergency Planning and CBRN.